My Purple Haze
by dosei no otohime
Summary: Oh, how can I summarize this without sounding like a teenybopper? Let's see: SM/EVA x-over. Shinji is troubled by things that have happened recently. Can the arrival of a new pilot help him cope or will it send him farther down? Part 6 up!
1. Author Message

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My Purple Haze

A Sailor Moon / Evangelion crossover

Author Message

I'm not very optimistic about this story, considering the nice black and bold words under the title. It probably won't get many reviews, because most people would look at it, see the words Sailor Moon and shun it with a hiss like a vampire does a cross. But let me ask you one thing…

Do you think I really care?

This fan fiction is a writing exercise, for the most part. I want to see if I can actually write in the world of Evangelion without screwing it over totally. I want to see if I can take this soda can of grape soda named Evangelion and morph it into a soda can of orange called fanfiction without denting it.

However, I already have. By introducing a new pilot, I have set things off in an awry motion. 

Also, there is another story that is a Sailor Moon / Evangelion crossing, and if they pissed people off, I want to as well. I want to see just how many flames I can get before it's done. I love fire. The other person who wrote a piece like this did it very well, by the way.

I have nearly four chapters written already. I wrote them as a release of creative frustration called high school. 

Well, my presentation teacher always said to tell people what you know before you speak on a topic. Let me show you my credentials. 

I watched Sailor Moon for a long time. I never got into the real mythology of it, but I know how the universe works. I know the timeline, the history and a wonderful spoonful of how Usagi (Sailor Moon) is a ditz. 

I also know Evangelion. I haven't been watching Evangelion for a while, only since Christmas, when I received my first DVDs from the series, as well as some graphic novels. But don't write me off as a rookie. I'm obsessed. I've seen all the shows at least 17 times a piece. Last night, I watched Rei, Beyond Her Heart for about 3 hours. Mostly because I was too lazy to put any other disc in but that's not the point. I also watched the episode with Asuka's appearance, over and over. I know all the episodes I own by line and scene. 

The only thing I do not know are each character's deep and dark secrets. But for writing this, I don't care to know them. 

I do know that someone, who just glanced at the summary for this story, began screaming and stuff because of a simple argument:

"SUGARY MAGICAL GIRLS DO NOT BELONG IN POST-APOCALYPTIC ANGST STORIES LIKE THIS!!!!"

I think I heard it the moment I began writing this story. Some psychic who likes Evangelion, but hates Sailor Moon, saw a vision of me writing this and had a stroke saying all that in one loud and long sentence. But the thing is, I agree with them. Magical girls do no belong here. And so there will be no magical girls.

But you will find the connection to Sailor Moon quite obvious when it occurs. 

So, flame me, compliment me, send me a box of Cheerios. I don't really care if you hate me for this or not. But a good reason as to why would suit me dandy. 

Now, onto the story!


	2. Prologue: Upon Sympathy

I do not own either of these series. If you wish to flame me on any subject, or at any level, then I welcome the very fires of Hell. Oh, and I like to follow the manga of Evangelion for some things, and the series for others. 

****

My Purple Haze

A Sailor Moon / Evangelion crossover

Prologue

The night was cool to the throat and stinging to the cheeks. Two women looked out upon the lifeless geofront from somewhere on the nearby hills. One with dark hair and the other with tresses like the sun she seemed to never see. Misato leaned against the railing, the same railing that had held an innocent boy up as he began to cry. 

"The night's a little cold," she said and rubbed her hands across her jacket's arms. Ritsuko nodded a bit. "Yes," she said, the single syllable broken against the air. 

"I hope the warm weather comes sooner than the calendar says it will," Misato mumbled. Ritsuko said nothing this time. Silence was abrupt.

"There is another unit."

Misato glanced at Ritsuko. She remembered what had happened the previous time. The screams. The pain. The darkness. Then Kaji's face and the news he held. The words he said to her still crept up every now and then, and they hollowed out her heart every time. She said nothing as Ritsuko continued.

"Commander has accepted custody of Unit 05 from Massachusetts NERV. It will arrive three days from now."

Misato shivered, but it wasn't due to the cold this time. Bad things came from Massachusetts. 

"Is there a pilot?"

Ritsuko shook her head. "The dummy system has proven nearly useless, for we can't control the EVA when it is activated. Marduk will find us a suitable pilot. We are to receive their report on the pilot shortly." Misato took her eyes from her friend and stared out at the city.

"Hmm…"

Ritsuko raised an eyebrow. "Thinking?"

"I just wish… I could do it, instead of those children."

"You know that it is impossible, though. You are not young enough."

"Can I take a few figures off my birthday cake and pilot an EVA then?"

Ritsuko chuckled. "I'm afraid you aren't preventing their suffering that easily. Besides, you belong as the supervisor. You seem to have incredible luck when it comes to destroying Angels," she said.

Misato smiled a little. She stared up at the stars. Ritsuko could change her face so easily, but Misato could not. She could not ignore what may happen again.

"Yeah… luck…"

Far from the two women, a girl lay in her bed. The blankets were pulled up to her ears, with her crown of dark hair emerging from the top, and her dainty nose poking out. Across from her, were three clothes hangers. Each one held a different piece of clothing. One, a white shirt, another a sea green skirt, and the last, a pair of socks. On the floor beneath them was a pair of dark Oxford shoes. She stared into the darkness at each of them. The moonlight lit them and produced warped visions of what they were.

Her stomach squirmed suddenly in anticipation of the morning. Tomorrow would mean a new destiny. She closed her eyes and let a light sigh escape her lips. 

"Tomorrow. I will not…"

The child-like voice faded and then all was silent in the room except for breathing.


	3. Part 1: Bitter Hallelujah

I do not own either of these series. If you wish to flame me on any subject, or at any level, then I welcome the very fires of Hell. Oh, and I like to follow the manga of Evangelion for some things, and the series for others. Also, I'm going to follow any events to a certain extent. 

****

My Purple Haze

A Sailor Moon / Evangelion crossover

Part One

Shinji opened his eyes and the slow pull of sleep drifted off his head and then the rest of him. His limbs soon felt the pressure coming from the blankets on top of him. He let out a sigh and then got to his knees, then his feet, letting the comforter slide from him back onto the bed. 

He dressed quickly, sliding the black pants up his thighs, his feet landing with a stomp on the floor as they passed through the pants. He buttoned his shirt up to his chest, where the buttons did not stop, but where the shirt felt comfortable and wasn't choking him. Fully dressed, he opened the sliding door and stepped out. 

He went to the kitchen. There, he saw Asuka, still in her bedclothes, looking through the contents of the refrigerator. Upon seeing her, he expected the thrashing of her morning voice, a thing that was not unusually agitated by the night. 

"There's nothing here," she whined as she scrunched up her nose, peering far in just in case she missed something. 

"But Asuka… its all instant food."

Asuka's spine became erect as she sprang up from her position. Her hands went to their natural placement of her hips and she scowled. "That's completely the problem Third Child!" she growled. Her face then went down to a smirk. "The food I eat needs to be fresh," she said.

"You've been eating instant ramen and stuff like that for weeks," Shinji said, blocking the rudeness that would emerge from a yawn. "Yes, I know," Asuka said, "But I only eat that stuff when Misato's here. So now is the time for change!"

"Misato's not here?"

Asuka looked at him with a raised eyebrow. "What are you? Stupid? She left early this morning," she said. She then returned to her stance of looking into the fridge. Shinji left her to find something for breakfast and went to get his books to make sure that he had finished the previous night's homework. He was sure he had, but there wasn't any hurt in checking before he went to school.

While opening his history book, he saw the blinking light on the answering machine.

"Hey Asuka! Did you see that there was a message on the machine?"

He heard the refrigerator door slam, and the clinking of glass as the jars shifted. 

"It isn't my job to see if there are messages, Third Child!"

Shinji sighed. He hadn't expected to hear a simple answer of whether she had or not, but it would be nice nonetheless. He looked back at the blinking red light of the answering machine. He heard her footsteps. She appeared in the door.

"Well? You going to play it?"

Shinji shrugged and pressed the Play button. A tinny voice rang out from the speaker on the side of the machine.

"Hi guys! This is Misato! Sorry I couldn't be there this morning. Work and all that. You guys understand, right? Well, don't worry. I'll be back this evening. I had to accept a shipment. See ya later!"

The message ended and Asuka padded back to the kitchen. A few sounds came and then a microwave beeped and started up.

__

Guess she settled for instant after all, Shinji thought. He looked at the answering machine. "Why would Misato leave so early to accept something…" he mumbled to himself. Realization caught him quickly. His mouth formed a mournful frown. He shook his head and then took up his computer in his arms, placing it in his pack near the door.

Asuka was sitting at the table, scooping at the remaining ramen noodles in the cup she held. She fished around for a moment and then just decided to drink the rest of it. She gulped it down. Seeing her roommate at the entrance to the room, she flicked the cup, causing it to tip over and spill a few drops of broth onto the table. "This food sucks…" she grumbled. She pulled her legs up onto the chair so that her knee pressed against the edge of the table. 

"You know why she left, right?"

"Sure. But I'm not worried about it, unlike you, worrywart."

She reached across the table and set the cup back up then pushed back her chair and stood up.

"I'm going to take a shower. Come in to peep at me and you won't live to regret your actions," she said and went off.

Shinji opened the loaf of bread and placed two pieces in the toaster. He pressed down the lever to light, considering the degree to which the toaster burnt his first piece of toast in Misato's home when he set it at a medium level. He leaned against the counter and waited on his toast.

__

Another Evangelion unit means another pilot. _Why would they even consider that after what happened to Toji_?

__

Why are they risking it?

The toaster springs jangled. The toast jumped and settled in the slots. With one hand, he pulled them out. He quickly pulled the jam from the cabinets and spread a little on. Then he went to the fridge and reached to the very back, pulling out a container of fish. He took one and put it in Pen-Pen's dish. 

__

Toji… I'm sorry. But you were right a long time ago, "sorry" doesn't cut it. Does it?

"_Dad, STOP IT!!_"

__

Just when I thought my father was human. Just when I thought I was a man. No, I'm still a coward.

The knots were beginning to eat away at his insides. Shinji sighed and then began to munch on his toast.

He walked to school alone that morning.


	4. Part 2: Entrance of the Devil

I do not own either of these series. If you wish to flame me on any subject, or at any level, then I welcome the very fires of Hell. Oh, and I like to follow the manga of Evangelion for some things, and the series for others. Also, I'm going to follow events to a certain extent and this is in the Evangelion universe. There will be no Negaverse monsters romping around. I'm doing this in order to challenge myself back into my Cowboy Bebop story.

****

My Purple Haze

A Sailor Moon / Evangelion crossover

Part Two

Rei stared ahead as the escalator took her down. Behind her, stood two others, the Second and Third. The boy's face seemed to breath in misery and exhale gloom. He was apparently very disturbed about his hypothesis on what the news that Misato was to present to them might contain. The red haired girl on a step above him did not seem to share his feelings, and was more interested in glaring down on the crown of his head. Her focus of agitation, however, was not Shinji, but he was within her range of insults for the time being. 

Shinji was unaware of the blue eyes boring into his skull. He was focused on something Kensuke had talked to him about earlier, though the boy had seemed to be franticly dodging the true subject he wished to speak of.

"Uh, I was looking on Dad's computer last night. There's gonna be another Evangelion."

"I know."

"Did Misato tell you this time?"

"In a way."

"Uh, ok. Did she tell you who the pilot is?"

"No."

"Really? Well, from what I could tell, they've selected a girl from the seventh grade class here."

"Seventh grade?"

Shinji's sneakers began to grind against the floor. 

"Dònkoff! Get off the stairs!" came a growl from behind and he felt two hands shove his shoulders. He stumbled forward, but didn't fall. He tossed a glare behind him at Asuka, but she ignored him and kept walking behind Rei, who hadn't looked back for a long while. 

Shinji took up third in their order, trailing a little behind the girls. Rei and Asuka. Two of the number of people he had met in Tokyo-3 but still had yet to understand.

Rei and Asuka.

Blue and red.

Though their hair, eyes and attitudes were opposites on the color wheel, both their skirts swished in a bizarre synchronized rhythm. Asuka must've noticed this in the quiet, and switched her weight to her right foot. But no matter what she did to change her walk, her skirt still sounded out with Rei's.

"So, wondergirl, what do you think this thing looks like?"

"Why?"

"Do you think it will be some ugly color or be brilliant red like my Unit 02?"

"The color of the unit does not matter."

Asuka became miffed almost immediately. 

"I know _that_. But what color do you think it is?"

"Asuka, it's just like Rei said. It doesn't matter."

Asuka whirled around and her hands were attached to her hips in a flash. "Was I addressing you, Third Child?"

"No."

"Then keep your nose out of it. Like you would care what color it is anyway. You have a _purple_ one."

"Just what exactly is that supposed to mean?"

Asuka crossed her arms triumphantly. "Well, if you don't already know, then I won't tell you," she said and then muttered a German curse under her breath. Shinji recognized one word from her constant blurting of her native tongue, but he didn't know what it meant. 

He looked up and Rei was watching them. Her face was not of granite for a moment before she realized Shinji was looking at her. She retreated inward, but Shinji had seen what he knew on Rei as bemusement. 

The three resumed their walk.

The elevator opened and Misato was there to greet them. "Hey guys! I'm glad you could make it here so fast. You guys want to go get lunch or something before we go downstairs?" Misato said, leaning against the inside of the opened steel door with a broad smile. 

Asuka smiled and began to agree that something was needed in the stomach when a voice cut through.

"Misato. Where is it?"

Misato lost her smile immediately and cocked her head to the side. "Shinji, don't you want to eat first? You know the lounge food isn't all that great at NERV…"

Shinji's face remained with the very same expression. _I'm facing the truth, but I feel so scared inside. I'm still a coward_, he thought, nearly dropping his eyes to the floor. 

Misato moved away from the door and let the three load on. The ride down was swift as Asuka and Misato provided some conversation to listen to while they waited. Then the belts stopped whirring and the box clicked to a stop.

As they were getting out, Shinji felt a hand on his shoulder. 

"Shinji, I promise. There will be no more last times."

Shinji turned and looked at her face. She was young, still in her twenties, but she had wisdom beyond anyone's years. The only thing that she didn't understand when she first met him, and maybe even at this moment, was that he was not a tool. He was human. He was a coward.

"You know like I do, Misato. There shouldn't even have been a last time."

"I…" she faltered for words a moment then reclaimed them, "I know."

They became silent for one of the first times since he had met her. 

The people of NERV were talking among themselves, creating a murmur of sound. Asuka had run ahead of the others. She pressed her forehead and hands to the window. Her disappointment in its color was apparent in her pressed frown. Rei and Shinji stepped up to the window.

"I present to you, Unit 05," Misato said from behind them. The EVA apparently fell under her jurisdiction, like the others, for a bit of pride could be heard in her tone.

The EVA was hooked up to the wall and was ready to be put through an activation test. Its dark grey armor gleamed under the fluorescent lighting inside the chamber. Unlike Unit 00, it had a face, and a place where the mouth was apparent along the jaw. Strips of purple lined its forearms and shoulder armor. The black of the shoulder armor made it seem menacing in the white room where it was held. The darkness of the chest and ribs made it seem ravenous. The eyes and body remained without life, although the power circuit was attached on its back. Shinji pressed his fingers on the glass. He could feel his knuckles turn white.

__

And we damn another to hell…

"She's a real beauty isn't she?"

"She sure is, Ritsuko. When are we getting down to business?" 

"We were about to begin activation. Mind getting them to the alternate hall?"

Shinji frowned hard. _They make it sound like a cakewalk_, he thought bitterly.

"Not at all. Asuka, Rei… they want you to get out of the way so that they can begin. Shinji… Shinji?"

He didn't move.

__

I live inside a monster.

"Shinji."

He pulled his hand down and watched the condensation fade then stepped back and joined his two comrades in the other hall. He didn't listen to the startup conversation of it.

"Begin primary connections."

It was those words that signaled it had begun.

"Entry plug secure."

"Transmit pulse."

"Psychograph position nominal."

"List cleared up through 1350."

"Roger that. First stage contact complete."

"Control," Ritsuko ordered, "Authorize proceed to phase two!"

"All neural links normal."

"List clear to 2550."

"Harmonics nominal."

"Reaching absolute borderline."

Shinji looked up at the EVA. He expected it to leap from its shoulder holds and burst through the wall, grabbing him and squeezing enough for the blood and organs to run through its fingers. It was his fault the last time, and he would make sure it would not be his fault this time. He was not afraid to die by the hands of the EVA in front of him.

But nothing happened.

"All clear! Phase two successful!"

Somehow, despite what it might mean for Rei, Asuka, or even the nearly lifeless Toji, he was almost disappointed.


	5. Part 3: Choke

I do not own either of these series. If you wish to flame me on any subject, or at any level, then I welcome the very fires of Hell. Oh, and I like to follow the manga of Evangelion for some things, and the series for others. Also, I'm going to follow events to a certain extent and this is in the Evangelion universe. There will be no Negaverse monsters romping around. I'm doing this in order to challenge myself back into my Cowboy Bebop story.

****

My Purple Haze

A Sailor Moon / Evangelion crossover

Part Three

The activation was over and, much to the displeasure of Shinji, successful. The group strolled out of the control room. Asuka was almost as disappointed as her male comrade, but on a different point.

"That was kinda boring," she said as they left. "I suppose," Shinji murmured. Asuka looked over at him. "Why so gloomy all of the sudden?" she asked. Her voice was soft toned. Shinji was surprised, but knew that answering her while she was like this meant that she might do it in the future.

"I didn't die."

Asuka raised an eyebrow. "What in the world are you talking about? You weren't in any danger in there," she said.

"I know."

Asuka crossed her arms in front of her chest and grunted.

"Shinji, you are one selfish creature!"

"Huh?"

She unfolded her arms and leaned close to his face. It was enough to cause him discomfort and pink blush spread across his cheeks. "You wish that you would die, so that _you_ would no longer feel guilt, so that _you_ would no longer feel pain," her tone began to rise in volume, "You don't consider the pain your death might inflict on others. You don't even _care_, because it's all about _you_!" Her point was emphasized by stamping her foot on the floor and clenching her fists. She narrowed her eyes and then leaned back.

"You're a helpless case," she muttered and started down the corridor towards the elevator. He watched her go.

"Oh! Shinji! There you are!" came a voice from behind him. He turned and saw Ritsuko standing there with a smile. "I'm glad I caught you. There's someone I'd like for you to meet," she said.

A form came from behind her with the soft step of a tender kitten. Black hair gleamed a blue crown of light to the top of her hair. Her ivory skin and strange violet eyes contrasted her dark hair. She was no longer in her plug suit, but had changed into the girl's uniform of the school Shinji attended. Her hands were clasped together behind her back.

"Shinji, this is Hotaru Tomoe. Hotaru, meet Shinji Ikari, the son of the commander and the Third Child."

A light smile brushed her features. "Nice to meet you, Shinji," she said. Her voice was soft, gentle like Rei's, but with warmth in it. She had a nice name as well, named after the rare and beautiful firefly. 

"Nice to meet you as well, Hotaru Tomoe," Shinji said.

"Ah, now I'm glad I did this. I wasn't sure if you knew each other at all, considering Hotaru is in a grade below you. Despite that, you two are the same age," Ritsuko paused for a moment, "Shinji, would you mind showing her where the lounge is? You two can grab a bite to eat there and talk about something. I wish that I could do it, but I have to file reports. Is that okay with you?"

"Yeah, sure, Ritsuko."

Their feet echoed across the halls. Shinji glanced over at her. Her face was calm, and a little bright. She was humming an unknown tune as she walked. 

"Were you scared?"

Hotaru looked over at Shinji with a confused look. "What do you mean?" she asked, keeping her eyes on him as she walked, a dangerous activity considering all of the compartments and things jutting out from the walls. 

"During the activation test, were you scared?"

"Why?"

Her question to his made him think that he may have been alone in his fear and reluctance, for two pilots had given him the same answer. "Did they not tell you what could go wrong?" he asked. She shrugged. "Guess not. Besides, no stuff happened. It could've, but it didn't. I could turn into a duck and quack all the way to the lounge, but I won't," she said.

She was an optimist. This was such a rare quality to have in the times occurring around them. She was almost a fairytale here.

"But I wasn't meant for this."

Though, even in times of light, there are shadow. He felt it bleed through. He looked at her again, and her eyes had grown nearly vacant, as if she was reliving a memory lost somewhere in her mind and she had just now reclaimed it.

"What do you mean?"

"I wasn't meant to pilot an EVA unit. I was meant for something else. But it's gone now."

"What is?"

Abrupt, she smiled brightly. "Oh, nothing," she answered, "Now, where is that lounge? I'm starving!"

She skipped a few steps ahead of Shinji, avoiding his questions and his eyes. He thought she was like Rei, but he was wrong. She certainly spoke more syllables than his red-eyed companion did. However, she was unlike Asuka as well. She was kinder, subtler. She was another enigma for Shinji to never solve.

Shinji smelled cinnamon coming from the nearby lounge. The NERV crew must've run out of normal coffee and was brewing up one of those special flavor blends. Whatever had happened to make them do that, the smell of cinnamon certainly drowned out the smell of any food the lounge may have been serving. He approached the room with an apathetic feeling about the things that he might eat there. He stopped a moment and watched her walk in. She pivoted on her right foot and turned to him. He watched her as she looked at him, raising an eyebrow and raising her hand as if to reach to him. Her eyes were perplexed at his halt. Her lips parted.

__

She lives inside a monster.

__

I suffocate inside the seams of one.

"Shinji?"

"Coming."


	6. Part 4: Butterfly

I do not own either of these series. If you wish to flame me on any subject, or at any level, then I welcome the very fires of Hell. Oh, and I like to follow the manga of Evangelion for some things, and the series for others. Also, I'm going to follow events to a certain extent and this is in the Evangelion universe. There will be no Negaverse monsters romping around. I'm doing this in order to challenge myself back into my Cowboy Bebop story.

****

My Purple Haze

A Sailor Moon / Evangelion crossover

Part Four

"You're fourteen?"

"Of course, silly!"

"But you're in seventh grade."

She shrugged and peeled open a chocolate bar. "Just because I'm an oddity doesn't mean I'm stupid," she said. Shinji poked his macaroni and cheese with a plastic fork. 

"I didn't say you were stupid."

"Okay."

"Are you staying some place?"

"My apartment, of course."

"You live… alone?"

"Sure. Is anything wrong?"

__

You shouldn't be alone. 

None of us should be, but we all are. 

Father lost Mother so long ago. I lost them both. Rei lives alone. Asuka has me, I suppose, but what am I? 

You're so full of humanity. 

You are real and there's nothing I can do.

"Nah, not really," he said, picking noodles out of the cheese with the prongs of the fork, sliding them up and to each one and getting four on it.

__

Stop thinking like you are.

Shinji opened his mouth to say something more, but he noticed a familiar form.

"Hey Rei! Over here!"

Hotaru dropped her candy bar onto the table. Quickly, she twisted her form almost completely around. Her eyes darted around the room franticly, as if her life depended on the thing she sought. Then she saw the girl coming toward them and her face fell. She kept her eyes to the table, nibbling on her candy bar as Rei Ayanami came towards the table. She seemed very disappointed that Rei was there. Shinji saw it present in her eyes. 

Rei did not sit down.

"What?"

Rei's voice was soft and simple.

"Rei, this is the pilot of Unit 05. Her name is Hotaru Tomoe. Hotaru, this is Rei Ayanami."

The girls locked eyes. Neither said anything.

Rei turned and left the lounge in the door opposite of the one she entered. Shinji assumed she was probably looking for someone. Hotaru went back to eating her candy. Her eyes went back to their place on the table.

"Something wrong, Hotaru?"

"Oh, I just thought… I knew… nevermind," she said quietly. She closed her eyes and breathed a sigh. Her smile returned. "So, do you live alone Shinji?"

Shinji let out a little laugh. "Not really. I live with Misato and Asuka. Asuka is the pilot of Unit 02," he said.

"Oh, yeah. She's the redhead. You live with her?"

"Yeah."

"Is she your girlfriend or something?"

Shinji blinked out of confusion. "Girlfriend?" he stuttered. Asuka? His girlfriend? She'd have to be both sedated and drunk to agree to go out with him.

Hotaru laughed. It was gentle and kind, but teasing still. "Should I assume that is an answer of no?" she said with a smile. Shinji just nodded as the blush began to creep across the apples of his cheeks. 

"There you are!"

The shout came from the door to the lounge. Shinji inwardly groaned_. Why are people looking for me more often than they usually do_? he thought. The owner of the voice took no invitation to the table and made their way over as soon as Shinji was spotted. The figure stood over the table dominantly. "What are you doing? Ditching school with the new girl?" Asuka cracked. 

"No… I… Ritsuko asked me to!" he stuttered out in his defense. However, Asuka had turned her attention to the girl that was seated at the table. "New girl, what's your name?" she said. 

Hotaru smiled and extended a hand. "My name is Hotaru Tomoe. How do you do?" she said, still smiling. Asuka ignored her hand. "My name is Asuka Langley-Soryu. I'm the pilot of the production model, Unit 02," she said, flipping her sunset hair behind her shoulders. Hotaru pulled her hand back to her side and her smile broadened. "What a coincidence. I'm the pilot of a production model as well," she said. Her violet eyes never wavered in the challenge. Asuka narrowed her eyes. "Whatever," she grumbled and pulled out a chair. Its legs scraped across the floor, the sound loud and long, and then she plopped down in it.

"So, new girl, let's be friends," she said, her hand finding her cheek and propping it up. Hotaru shrugged. "Okay," she said. Asuka jerked a thumb in Shinji's direction. "Whatever the Third Child here has said about me is probably false," she cast a glare his way, "He has a tendency to over exaggerate and complain."

"Asuka, I do not!"

"Whatever. Now, Hotaru, what has he said?"

Hotaru smiled in amusement at their bickering. "Nothing much. Just that he lives with you and Misato. We actually haven't chatted that deeply. Though, I did manage to get the name of the love of his life," she said with a giggle.

Shinji jumped up from his chair and it fell backwards.

"WHAAAT?!?!" he cried.

Hotaru giggled. "I did. It wasn't that hard. Its all over your tone and body language," she said covering her mouth to keep from laughing out loud again at the look on Shinji's face. Asuka smirked. "Well, well. The Third Child has a little crush. Now, who may I ask is it?" she said.

Hotaru looked at Asuka and then at Shinji. She giggled again. "Oh, I don't think that Shinji would like me telling his secrets," she said. 

Asuka rolled her eyes.

Shinji breathed a sigh of relief.

Asuka looked down at the stuff that he had decided to eat. "How can you eat that stuff? It's worse than what Misato can cook up half asleep after a few beers!" she exclaimed. Shinji looked down at his food. It was a scoop of macaroni and cheese with a sandwich. It was like a packed lunch, but it hadn't been radiated in a microwave, not to his knowledge anyway. 

"What's wrong with it?"

"It sucks, that's what! Hey, Hotaru, wanna come over to the apartment and have some real food? Shinji can eat his cheese flavored rubber here if he wants," Asuka said, standing. "Sure, I guess," the violet eyed girl said and stood up. She offered a tiny wave and light smile. "See ya Shinji," she said and followed Asuka out of the lounge. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Asuka put her arm around Hotaru's shoulders.

"Now, new girl, when we get there, why don't we have a little girl talk? Sharing secrets and all that…"

__

Secrets?!

"Hey Asuka! Wait up!"

A clunk was heard as the plate hit the bottom of the trashcan, followed by frantic sneakers on the floor.


	7. Part 5: Adrift

****

My Purple Haze

A Sailor Moon / Evangelion crossover

Part Five

The car rattled down the line with a persistent beat of two seconds before the wheels sounded out. Hardly anyone was in it, with the exception of three teens and a sleeping bag lady. The old woman turned over on the seat once, opening her dark eyes to squint at the children before making a light sound and returning to her slumber. The boy sat across from the two girls, one who seemed intent on watching the inside of the tunnels as they flashed by, almost looking lonely, and the other who was swinging her legs and humming, occasionally pausing to fling her red copper hair back over her shoulder. The subway car was air-conditioned, a little too much for anyone in skirts and shirts, which is what Asuka and Hotaru happened to be in. Shinji watched from across them. The dark haired girl rubbed her knees with her hands occasionally in an attempt to keep her joints warm and not stiff. The rustle of cloth challenged the car, and lost, so Asuka started the conversation first.

"Where did you go to school before this?"

Hotaru looked up. She seemed like she was taken a bit by surprise, almost as if she expected Asuka to be talking to Shinji or the bag lady instead of herself. "Oh, I've lived in Tokyo my entire life," she said, turning her knees towards Asuka for better conversation. Asuka cocked her head to the side at the response.

"Where have you been hiding all this time?"

"In the seventh grade."

A furrowed brow appeared on Asuka. She shifted her posture so that she was also turned in an angle towards her new comrade. Her arm was lifted to the back of the car's seat as she positioned herself.

"Huh? But aren't you fourteen? Like us?"

Hotaru smiled with a nod.

"Yeah, but I was held at home for another year… due to…"

"Due to what?"

Shinji saw the hint of blush cross the fair cheeks as Asuka leaned in with the question. Hotaru's shoulders shifted back a fraction as the other took to invasion. "Just things that were happening," she said, her elbows shifting into her sides.

"So you live with your mom and dad?"

Hotaru's soft voice became a course of unsure words and pauses. 

"No… my…"

Gentle had become a splurge forth of tongue flicking across teeth.

"Father and my…" 

She closed her eyes and drew in a breath. When she opened the violet orbs once again, her voice had regained the smooth tone from before.

"My family died in the Second Impact. I live alone."

Asuka accepted it and pulled away with a small frown, as if Hotaru hadn't been interesting enough, and took her eyes to Shinji. "Yeah, Shinji and me live without parents too, but Misato's our guardian, so we never have any fun anyway," she said, whine apparent in her voice.

"But…"

Asuka flicked her eyes to Hotaru's gentle voice. The girl was smiling softly.

"But you have someone, don't you?"

She stared at her a moment before averting her gaze. "Yeah, I guess…" she mumbled. She crossed her arms in front of her chest. Her interrogation of Hotaru fell short, and she looked the other way. She pulled her legs back, crossing them at the ankles, then letting her arms return to her sides. 

Violet eyes met Shinji's and startled his skin, making him jump and let out a small nervous sound. They blinked behind dark lashes, and then left him, staring again at the dark insides of the subway tunnel or, perhaps, her reflection on the car's window.

The car became silent.

School was out, and students dotted the sidewalks. The trees that lined them offered little shade against the sun. The three teenagers walked together, though, one of them glancing up at the sky with the slightest evidence of a nervous frown. 

"How far are we from the apartment?" Hotaru asked. 

"Not far," Shinji said and pointed to a place somewhere along the line of apartments that seemed to stretch into infinity. Hotaru's fingers pulled at the sides of her sea green skirt. Her knuckles ached for pockets to shove themselves in. Her fingers slid across the cotton fabric as if she could actually thrust them into pockets and hide her hands. She looked up at the two other pilots. Their rhythm of step wasn't letting up, and she could feel the sun begin to heat her light skin. If she stayed out much longer, she would turn pink on her face and lower arms, creating an embarrassing tan pattern, if she happened to gain any color from it at all. She wondered how Rei dealt with it.

The elevator doors opened on a new floor. They all stepped from the steel chamber and onto the tile. 

The door was labeled M. Katsuragi. 

Shinji opened it.

"Make yourself at home," Shinji said as he pulled his feet out of his shoes. Hotaru mumbled a reply as she struggled a little with hers. Her eyes wandered the walls and floor, trying to become familiar with the apartment instead of tripping in strangeness. 

"Misato?" Shinji called out to the rooms, "Are you home?"

No reply came. "Guess not…" he mumbled. He smiled at Hotaru. 

"Welcome."

Eh… you can tell where my creativity began to bomb. 


	8. Part 6: The Child Who Sang

****

My Purple Haze

A Sailor Moon / Evangelion crossover

Part Six 

Computers sounded out that they were working and computing data through their wires and chips.

"So, who is she?"

Ritsuko looked up with a smile. Misato stood over her shoulder, scanning the sync data on the Fifth Child. She seemed to do it a lot, and Ritsuko didn't mind it any more, though she did ponder as to why Misato always turned to her.

"Hmm… just what the file says," she said, pulling it up and ignoring the words in German. She already knew what they all meant.

"Hotaru Tomoe. Age fourteen. Fifth Child. She was raised by adopted parents in Tokyo-3. Her original parents are unknown. Her adoptive parents were killed nearly a year ago. Some kind of automobile accident. She's doing well. She had 42% sync ratio in the first test. That's not much above Shinji's, but it's still rather good. There's only one thing that puzzles me…"

Misato raised an eyebrow. "What's that?"

"Pilot 05's mental stability is on the fringe of becoming a disaster. If something happens, the EVA could reject her, she could go insane… or die."

"Do you know why it's disturbed to that level?"

"No. Without a psychiatric evaluation, there would be no way to determine it. Even then, we might not find the answer."

"Is there anything we can do? Would this affect her combat?"

"Without a diagnosis, there could be nothing that we can do. This occurred with Pilot 00 as well, though her sync ratios were not quite this high. We'll keep a close eye on her, that's for sure," Ritsuko said, shrugging her shoulders. Her computer suddenly beeped. She blinked in surprise. "What's that?" Misato asked, scanning the new document that had opened itself. 

"It's the results from her physical. It seems… she has a…"

Misato squinted at the computer screen, then cocked her head to the side as she saw the words.

"A condition?"

Shinji frowned as he put the bag on the table. "I don't know why I had to find the food," he grumbled, glaring at Asuka. "Well," she said with a smirk, "You've already eaten. Besides, it was only a snack anyway."

Shinji rolled his eyes, almost in unison with Asuka, who was turned and neither could see. She reached out and grabbed the bag, pulling on both sides to open it. The package came open abruptly and two pocky sticks flew out onto the floor. Either she didn't notice or she didn't care that they had landed on the floor. She took two, stuck one in her mouth and then slid the plastic bag over to Hotaru. She examined her stick.

"I think they're strawberry flavored or something…" she mumbled and then stuck it back in her mouth. Hotaru plucked one out and slowly took it to her mouth before putting it in. She chewed on it a little.

Asuka suddenly frowned. She squirmed and then gritted her teeth, trying to be tolerant of whatever was bothering her. Finally, she let out a frustrated growl. "This _stupid uniform_ is getting uncomfortable. I'm going to go change," she said and stood up. "C'mon Hotaru," she said, quickly grabbing the other girl's wrist and pulling her up. Hotaru was given no time to argue as Asuka pulled her into a different room and leaving Shinji alone with an open bag of pocky. A hand slammed the sliding door and it opened again with the force set behind it. A curse was heard in a distinct accent and the tiny space was closed. 

Shinji frowned uncomfortably in the silence as he sucked on the pocky stick.

The other room was dimly lit, and a few degrees cooler. Asuka padded across the room with confidence as to where she was stepping while Hotaru shuffled a few steps and stopped. Hotaru heard rustling.

"So what's your favorite color?"

Hotaru blinked.

The rustling stopped.

"Well?"

"Oh… well… purple, I guess," Hotaru stammered.

More rustling came from across the room. Suddenly, something soft hit her in the face.

"I think that's purple," Asuka said, "You can borrow it for a while if you want, but you can't keep it."

Hotaru squinted at the dark clothes in her hands. She held it up and looked at the outline. She stared at it as her eyes adjusted completely to the darkened room. It was a light dress, unlike the school uniform she was wearing, and it had sleeves that would fall past her shoulders a few inches. It was soft in her hands, and felt like it had been well worn and washed. She lowered the dress and started to speak. "Hey Asuka wh— " she cut herself off with a startled sound as she saw that in the dark Asuka was pulling on new clothes.

Asuka looked up at her, the raised eyebrow forming. "What are you _doing_? Aren't you going to change?" she asked.

"Uh, yeah, sure…" Hotaru mumbled and pulled on the collar string, then unsnapped the skirt. She thanked the higher power that the room was dark, otherwise Asuka would've seen that her hands were shaking as she peeled off her school uniform. She could almost feel the needles of someone's eyes finding her unclothed form. She didn't want anyone to see her that way.

The door opened and Shinji looked up, startled, and he swiped his hand across the table, quickly picking up six stripped pocky sticks and depositing them under the table. He folded his hands together and tried to look as if he hadn't just eaten all of the snacks. 

The two girls emerged from the room. Asuka was in that yellow dress that tied at the shoulders. It was the same one that Shinji had seen while on the ships, the same one that hadn't fought the wind. He blushed as he remembered the sight, and it was nearly the same heat that had crossed him moments later with her hand. Hotaru was in a lavender dress that fell just below her knees. The dress would've fit anyone else Asuka's height, but the raven-haired girl was a few inches shorter. The light colored dress highlighted her creamy skin and amethyst eyes. Her hands were clasped together in front of her, as if she were going to greet someone. A hint of rose caressed her cheeks.

As they entered the light, Asuka looked at the dark haired girl, looking her over and a quick frown appeared on her lips. She cast a glare at Shinji, then he realized he had been staring and averted his eyes. But the memory of them both as they appeared was still clear. 

They sat down in the places they had been minutes before. Asuka pulled the snack bag in her direction, shoving in her fingers to pull out something. When her hands failed to grasp something in their first attempts, she growled and snatched up the bag and opened it to inspect it. She narrowed her eyes and a frown crossed her. She glared at Shinji. "Dunkopf!" she exclaimed, throwing the near empty bag at him, "You ate all the pocky! Gieriger Idiot!"

Shinji dodged the slow moving bag with a helpless look on his face. 

__

Yes, Asuka. I am stupid. Just keep assuring me of what I am.

He glanced at Hotaru, who was watching the both of them uneasily. She didn't know that this was almost a routine now. Shinji would do something stupid, like put the soy sauce in the wrong cabinet or eat the last Koala cookies, and then Asuka would yell at him. Her eyes would turn to cerulean fire, and her lips would purse. He knew what would happen, and he took it every time, knowing it was either just the way she was or that he truly was stupid. 

He heard a small sound, almost like a whimper. Both he and Asuka turned. Her eyes were wide, almost fully white.

"Hotaru? What's wrong?!"

Gendo Ikari heard the phone pick up across the room after two rings. The murmurs of Fuyutsuki's voice came and went. Then the receiver clicked back.

"Commander…"

Ah, the tone was ominous.

Shinji took her shoulders and began to shake her furiously. 

"C-c-coming…" she stuttered out, pulling her arms to her chest as if to protect herself. Suddenly, her eyes focused on Shinji's face. Her lips trembled. He fought to understand what had just happened.

Then the phone rang.

Asuka answered.

"Hotaru… what…" Shinji stammered, his hands still on her shoulders.

The receiver clicked back.

"Hey dunkopf, we gotta go! Move it!" Asuka said and started quickly to the door where she began to slip on her shoes.

"Where are we going?" Shinji asked, dumbfounded.

"NERV headquarters of course! They've spotted a new Angel!"

Creativity = plane.

Mine = crashed and burned. 


End file.
